Relax Already! 6 High-Tech Stress-Reducers

Technology is stressing us out. We stare at a screen endlessly, living in the virtual realm of Facebook and Twitter, isolated from actual human contact. Not to worry: Technology is here to save the day too, reminding us to take a break and offering a digital assist as we try to channel some inner peace.

20 Cubed

20 Cubed

Price: Free

This free plug-in for the popular Google Chrome browser, which users can install from the Chrome store, is brilliantly basic. Every 20 minutes as you work, a message pops up reminding you to take a break for 20 seconds. Even so short a respite from the computer helps to relieve optical pressure in the eyes and encourages users to rejoin the real world, if only for a moment.

Pip Biosensor

Pip Biosensor

Price: TBD

Doctors have documented many of the ways stress affects your body. For instance, the body reacts to stressful situations by sending blood to your extremities and thereby causing sweat to build up. The Pop Biosensor, currently in development and available early next year (the Kickstarter campaign just concluded successfully), can read thumb pressure and use the available biometrics to estimate your stress levels. The device connects to an iOS or Android app and will warn you when you are getting overly stressed about a game, a deadline, or a relationship.